What Could Have Been
by 2remember
Summary: Rated 'M' for adult subject matter and adult language. Aelita wants something from Jeremie that he's not ready to give yet. What will become of them?
1. Frustration

Warning: Rated 'M' for adult subject matter and adult language.

The main characters of this story are based on characters from the cartoon 'Code Lyoko.' I do not own, nor do I claim, any copyright to these characters.

* * *

She moaned as he caressed her breasts, while his lips added their own sensations to the back of her neck. She craned her head to the side, giving him more access to her throat, while placing her hands on top of his, encouraging their work. 

After a bit, she turned to face him, then sat down on his bed, pulling him to her. As he continued his kisses and caresses, she returned his embrace with her own, encouraging him onward. Her hands traveled about his body, adding to her excitement, settling for a moment on his growing erection. Feeling it, almost a life unto its own, excited her even more, knowing, hoping, for what would come next.

She laid back on the bed, pulling him down on her, positioning him between her legs, for that was where he would eventually need to be. He bent his head down to her, and she waited, anticipating, willing his lips on to her breasts, needing the sensations they would produce. He nuzzled each one, kissing and licking it, producing almost unbearable sensations of pleasure and anticipation within her. He kept steadily kissing them for a while, then took one of her nipples in his mouth and caressed it with is tongue. Then, he started to graze them with his teeth, lightly at first, then a little harder, sucking them as he did. Then, a little harder. She moaned when he did this, wanting more, much more. Then, he bit a little harder. She cried out in surprise, but still wanted more from him. He wanted to bite even harder now, much harder...

Suddenly, he stopped. He got up from her, breathing as heavily as she was, visibly shaken by the effort to disengage from her.

"Please, Jeremie, don't stop now, please!" Aelita begged her lover.

"I can't," the blond haired young man told his beloved, "I just can't."

* * *

Sissi Delmas returned to her dorm room and heard crying inside. She knocked, then entered to find her roommate, Aelita Hopper, crying in her bed. 

"'Lita, what's wrong?" Sissi asked as she closed the door.

She looked up from her pillow, streams of tears running down her face. "Jeremie," she replied, like that one word explained everything.

"What did he do this time?" Sissi asked as she sat on the edge of Aelita's bed.

"It's not what he did," the girl replied, "it's what he _didn't_ do."

Aelita then explained between her sobs what had happened, and didn't happen, on their date this evening. Retelling the tale just made the girl all the more upset.

"Jeremie has always been a little uptight about some things," Sissi said, trying to console her friend, "he has always treated you as something special, and sometimes he just acts so old fashioned."

"But tonight was different!" Aelita exclaimed, "he was making love to me so tenderly, and I was wanting him so much, and I thought he wanted to, but suddenly, he stopped. I was so frustrated I damn near raped him! Then I got so mad when he rebuffed me I just stomped out and came back here."

"I don't know what to say," Sissi said.

"I don't know what to do," Aelita said, "I'm afraid that, after all these years, he really doesn't find me desirable after all. Maybe he's just been going along with everybody's expectations of us."

Her tears started flowing again and she broke down.

Sissi just wrapped her arms around her friend and hugged her. It was all she think of to do.

* * *

Jeremie Belpois kicked the chair to his desk across the room again. 

_Dammit!_ he thought to himself, _when will I ever have peace from this thing?_

_Never,_ replied the ugly voice of a repulsive echo, _this is where your desire leads you, and there can only be one end to it._

Jeremie's mind was filled with visions of blood and gore, Aelita's. The taste of blood, her blood, rang on his tongue, followed soon by the taste of meat, hers. So wonderful, so sweet, so near.

_This is your destiny. And your despair will be sweeter than the taste of her flesh when the day finally comes. Remember how good her tits tasted when you kissed them? When you licked them? Remember how good it felt biting into them? Just wait 'til you _really_ bite into them! It will be a grand feast! And there is sweeter meat waiting after that, just a little farther down!_

Jeremie kicked his bed, nearly breaking his toe. The evil echo inside of him only laughed.

* * *

Jeremie and Aelita met at breakfast the next morning before their classes started. 

"Aelita, about last night," Jeremie started, but Aelita stopped him.

"About last night," she interrupted, "after I got home, I started thinking. Jeremie, do you love me?"

"More than Life itself," he replied.

"Why won't you show me, then?"

"Aelita, I do, every day. Even last night, I was showing you how much I love you by..."

"Jeremie, don't you find me attractive, desirable?"

"You don't know how much I do."

"That's my point, Jeremie, I don't know. Last night, I was ready willing and able to give my self, all of me, to you. And just when we were about to come together, you stopped like you got a bad taste in your mouth. We've been dancing around this for years, now, and I don't know how much plainer I have to be. I Want You. In My Bed. In Me. Now. Take Me To Bed Or Lose Me Forever."

Jeremie's eyes got wide at that statement. "You don't mean that literally, do you?"

Aelita paused a moment, looked him square in the eyes, then said, "yes."

Jeremie's face looked like she had just ripped his heart out and spat on it. "I'm sorry, Aelita. I can't."

Jeremie got up from the table and left. Aelita watched him walk away.


	2. What If Aelita

Warning: Rated 'M' for adult subject matter and adult language.

The main characters of this story are based on characters from the cartoon 'Code Lyoko.' I do not own, nor do I claim, any copyright to these characters.

* * *

The next month was hell for Aelita. After that morning, she never spoke to Jeremie again. When ever she would see him walking across the campus, she would call out to him and wave, but he would ignore her.

For the first two weeks, she would cry whenever he did this. After that, she decided to hell with him. If he wanted to be that way, fine. She would find somebody else.

Sissi and her other friends all tried to get her to talk to Jeremie, to find out what was really bothering him, but she told them to butt out. If Jeremie wanted to act like an asshole, then fine by her.

After a month, she decided to get out and try something different. There was a nightclub about an hour away from the college where she attended, and she had heard good things about the place. The music was great, the dancing lively, and the guys were something to behold. She decided to find out for herself.

That night, she dressed in a tight, short dress, one she had bought for Jeremie, and went.

True to what she had heard, the place was great. The band performing was fantastic, and there were some of the cutest looking guys she had ever seen. She went to the bar, ordered a drink, then found herself a table to watch the crowd and enjoy the music.

After her third drink, a man approached and asked, "mind if I join you?"

"Sure, have a seat," Aelita replied. The man sat down.

He was about Aelita's age. He had the longest blond hair she had ever seen on a man. It was tied in a pony tail that reached down to his buttocks when he stood. He also had the bluest eyes she had ever seen. She could almost lose herself in them. And his smile!

"I don't think I've seen you here before," he said, "by the way, my name's Jude."

"Aelita," she replied dreamily, "Jude, as in Jude Law?"

"No," he replied, "more like St. Jude, you know, the patron saint of lost causes?'

She laughed at that and smiled, "and do I look like a lost cause to you, Jude?"

"Yes, Aelita, you do," he replied, "would you like to be saved?"

"Oh, yes," she replied as she fell into his eyes.

* * *

The next thing Aelita remembered was waves and waves a pleasure. Jude had taken her from the club, to his apartment. There, he took her in his arms and ravished her. Once he started, there was nothing but him, her, and absolute ecstasy, crashing over her, around her, through her, pure pleasure. This, she thought, was what she wanted, what she was always looking for.

Deep within her, a thought arose, _yes, but with Jeremie._

The next morning, she woke up alone in a strange bed. On the night stand by her was a note:

_Thanks for the good time. Let yourself out._

She never saw Jude again after that night. She returned to school and got back into her routine. She never saw Jeremie again, either. Her friends wouldn't tell her what became of him, and soon she stopped asking. Soon after that, she drifted away from them.

Aelita started club-hopping, hoping to run across Jude again. She never did, but she did meet other men, and sometimes women. Some she just danced with. Some, she slept with. Some, she even tried to make a lasting relationship with.

The sex was good, sometimes even fantastic, but always in the back of her mind was the small voice that said, _it should have been Jeremie_.

Aelita graduated, and found a good job away from Paris. She continued looking for Jude, or Mr. Right. All she ever found was Mr. or Ms. Right Here.

She finally married a man, Michael Buford, an American from Georgia. She moved to the United States with him, and they lived quite a few years together.

Those years were hard. He was always kind to her, but he was also never there. He was an ambitious man, and spent every waking moment trying to catch that ever elusive American Dream. Aelita found work to help supplement their meager income and fill the empty hours in her life.

When Michael finally achieved his dream, he left Aelita for his secretary. He left her with nothing but emptiness.

She lived out the rest of her life alone, in a foreign land. She had brief times of happiness, but never joy. And always loneliness. When she finally passed away, she was laid in a pauper's grave.

* * *

Aelita stood over the unmarked mound that was her final resting place.

"Well, did you enjoy that?" said a man's voice behind her.

She turned around and there was Jude, as young as the day she first met him.

"Jude! Where have you been? I've been looking for you almost my entire life!" she said.

"No, you haven't," he replied, "you've been chasing something you _thought_ you wanted. What you truly wanted you threw away years ago."

"Jeremie."

"Jeremie spent almost his entire relationship with you fighting a great lie in his heart," Jude went on, "one that you could have helped him with, but didn't. It finally defeated him, on the very night you first met me. You were told once that one day it would be Time, Time for You and Him. You decided you couldn't wait and forced the issue. This is the result."

"What became of him?" she asked, the dread rising inside her.

"He's at the bottom of the river in front of the old factory. The old factory that was supposed to be the place where the evil that XANA spawned would finally be destroyed. But that never happened either. Now others have to take up the fight you foresook."

"What will become of me?"

"Nothing. Here is where you ended up. Here is where you will remain."

With that, Jude disappeared.

"Oh, my God! What have I done!" she cried to the emptiness as it closed in on her forever, "Jeremie!"


	3. What If Jeremie

Warning: Rated 'M' for adult subject matter and adult language.

The main characters of this story are based on characters from the cartoon 'Code Lyoko.' I do not own, nor do I claim, any copyright to these characters.

* * *

The next month was hell for Jeremie. After that morning at breakfast, he avoided her. When ever he would see her across the campus, he would ignore her. 

Sissi and his other friends all tried to get him to talk to Aelita, to tell her what was really bothering him, but he did nothing. All the while, the demon inside him laughed.

Things finally came to a head the night that Aelita went to the nightclub. That's when he realized that he had lost her for good.

He made a decision, and went to the old factory, pausing on the bridge for a moment. He had crossed that bridge many times with Aelita and his friends, but tonight he was alone.

He went inside and untied one of the ropes they used to use to swing down to the main level. He cut it to a third of its original length, then fashioned a noose around one end.

He thought about ending it in the factory, where his joy and pain had started. But he decided to do it on the bridge instead.

He tied the free end of the rope around one of the pillars of the bridge. All he needed to do now was to tighten the noose around his neck and jump. He just stood there, though, and looked out on the water.

"Nice view," came a woman's voice behind him.

He turned and saw the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She had long blond hair that reached down to her hips, and the bluest eyes he had ever seen.

"What's got you out on such a nice night like tonight," she asked.

"Just thinking," Jeremie replied.

"What, you got work to do here tomorrow?" she asked, "I was walking by and saw you doing something on the side here. Are you a painter?"

"No, I've got something I've got to do tonight, and I was setting up for it."

"Well, don't let me stop you."

The next thing Jeremie felt was the _snap!_ of his neck as he reached the end of the rope and the noose tightened. The rope then broke, and he fell into the water. Then there was blackness.

* * *

Somehow, Jeremie found himself back on the bridge. The woman was still standing there. 

"Well, that was a stupid way to solve your problem," she said.

"What do you know of my problem," Jeremie asked, "just who are you anyway?"

"You can call me Judy," she told him, "and I know quite a bit about you. I can tell you this much, you applied a rather permanent solution to a temporary problem."

"I couldn't think of anything else. I can't live without her."

"You should have told her that, not me."

"There was only one thing she wanted from me, and I couldn't give that to her, not yet."

"I know she thinks that's true. And you did help give her the idea that is was, you know."

"How's that?"

"Every time you took her to the brink of ecstasy, then backed off. You kept making promises to her with your body you knew you couldn't keep yet, and she finally demanded satisfaction from you. Now, she's off somewhere else, looking for what she thinks is love, not realizing she already had it, except that you had your head screwed on wrong."

"Now I'm going to show you the consequences of your actions. Call it a Welcome To Hell Gift."

Jeremie was suddenly someplace else, in an apartment somewhere. There, Aelita was making love to some man she had met earlier in the evening. Her cries and moans of pleasure tore at him like claws.

The next morning, he saw her wake up, alone. He looked over her shoulder at the note that was left for her. He saw her cry when she read it.

He saw her drift away from their friends. He called to her, pleaded with her, raged at her not to leave them, but she couldn't hear him.

He was there when she graduated, when she left Paris.

He followed her through her life. The clubs, the men, sometimes women, the mornings after. Each scene, each whisper, each moan, each rejection, was yet another barb driven into his soul.

He was there when she met Michael Buford, there when she married him. He was there when they moved to America. He was there when Buford left her alone. He was also there when Buford slept with his secretary, and heard their derisive laughter about Aelita's naivety.

Jeremie was there when Aelita's husband left her, alone and penniless. He was beside her as she spent the rest of her earthly existence trying to find some comfort, some joy in her life. He was there when all she could ever find were brief moments of physical pleasure, that paled in comparison to what she really wanted, what she once had, and faded all too quickly. He was there when she died, there when she stood by her grave.

He was there when she ultimately cried out in her despair.

* * *

Jeremie once again stood on the bridge where he died. Judy was standing before him. 

"Well, how do you like it, this thing you did?" Judy asked him. His sobs were his only reply.

"What will become of her?" he finally asked, barely controlling his sorrow and remorse.

"She will remain where she was buried, alone for eternity. I suppose stories will be told about the ghost of a pink-haired woman wandering about, calling out for her true love, but you never can tell."

"And what will become of me?"

"You made your bed, big boy, now you can sleep in it. You can sit here and watch the factory get torn down, see thousands of people killed by radiation exposure. You can sit here and know that XANA finally won, that its evil will spread even farther then it had when you died. Sit here and know that others will have to be raised up in order to defeat what it left behind. You can sit here knowing that she is where she is, forever separated from you, forever longing for the briefest glimpse of you, even if it were in the Fires of Hell."

"Is there any way I can change this? To spare Aelita at least?" Jeremie begged.

"Perhaps."


	4. Else

Warning: Rated 'M' for adult subject matter and adult language.

The main characters of this story are based on characters from the cartoon 'Code Lyoko.' I do not own, nor do I claim, any copyright to these characters.

* * *

Jude looked at the pink-haired woman frozen in front of him. He had been sent specifically to intercept her, to try and talk some sense into her. The path she was about to start down would not lead her to what she truly wanted. It was a hard Lesson, but she had to learn it. 

While Jude regarded the woman in the nightclub, Judy regarded the man on the bridge at the factory. He had been frozen as he looked out on the water, contemplating his demise. Her mission was the same as her counterpart's, try and talk some sense into him. Death was not the answer to the equation he played out in his mind, and he had to see that. It was a hard Lesson, but he had to learn it.

The two Communicated with each other, two halves of the same perfect whole. It was time.

Jude sent a thought to Aelita, and she got out her cell phone and handed it to him. He took the phone and dialed a number.

"Jeremie," he said in Aelita's voice, "help me, I'm in trouble. I'm at..." Jude ended the call before completing the sentence.

* * *

As Jeremie looked out on the water, thinking about his end, his cell phone rang. 

"Hello?"

"Jeremie, help me," came Aelita's voice, "I'm in trouble. I'm at..." Then the call stopped.

"Aelita? Aelita! AELITA!"

He dropped the rope, thought for a moment, then ran into the factory. He ran up the steps to the top floor, then towards one of the corner offices. As he approached, he heard the sounds of pleasure coming from inside. Without stopping, without thinking, Jeremie burst through the door of Odd Della Robbia's studio.

"Odd! Sissi! you've got to help me! Aelita's in trouble!" he hollered at the two, then froze, realizing what he had interrupted.

The room was lit by a camping lantern set on a half sized book case. Next to it, Odd and Sissi were both naked. Odd was standing holding her pinned against the wall as he thrust into her. Sissi had wrapped herself around him and was clinging for dear life, her fingernails dug into his back, writhing to match his strokes. She was, at least until Jeremie burst in, oblivious to everything except her lover's motions and the pleasure they brought.

When Jeremie burst in, she shrieked," Jeremie, what the Hell are you doing here!"

At that, Odd stopped and turned his head as far as he could towards Jeremie, his face flush with lust and effort. Everyone's face got red at the situation.

Jeremie quickly turned away from the couple. "God, I'm sorry, guys," he stammered, "I just got a call from Aelita. She's in trouble and needs help. I don't know where she is, and you were the only ones I could think of that would know."

Sissi looked at Jeremie for a moment, then at Odd, then back at Jeremie, and then at Odd again. She did something internally, and Odd suddenly groaned and spasmed. She rode the sensations for a moment, then gave him a last, long kiss and unwound herself from him.

"She told me she was going to a nightclub about an hour from here," Sissi said as she went over to her purse and got some wipes to clean herself up, her voice still husky and shaky from her passion, "but I know where it is. Jeremie, you _owe_ me for this. You owe me big time."

"And you owe me double, idiot," added Odd.

* * *

The drive to the nightclub was agonizing for Jeremie. All the while, he wondered what was wrong with Aelita. Was she safe? Was she still there? Was the dream he had on the bridge coming true? He could only wait, and pray he was in time. 

They finally arrived at the club and went in. Just as they got inside, Jeremie saw Aelita being led out of the club by a man, the man Jeremie saw in his dreams. She was unsteady on her feet, almost like she was asleep, or unconscious.

"Aelita! Over Here! Aelita!" Jeremie called out and ran over to her, Odd and Sissi close behind.

"What's your problem, bud? Can't you see my date and I are going home for the night?" the man said.

"I don't think so!" Jeremie replied hotly, "she called me to come get her!"

"She must have changed her mind in the meantime, sonny," the man sneered, "'cause she's with me, now." He tried to push past Jeremie.

Jeremie refused to be pushed. On top of that Odd stood directly behind Jeremie with a Don't Mess With Me look on his face. The man let go of Aelita and prepared to take a swing at Jeremie.

"What's going on here?" came a voice from the crowd. Another man appeared, and stepped up to the group.

"These assholes are trying to steal my date from me!" said the man, "and I bet you are too, you..." The man stopped when the stranger pulled out a badge of the Metropolitan Police Force.

"Inspector Michelette, Metropolitan Police," said the stranger, "tell me sir, who is this woman to you?"

The man replied, "she is my roommate. We've been together for years now. We went out tonight for a celebration, and she got ill. I was taking her home when these people accosted me."

"I see," Inspector Michelette said. He then turned to Jeremie, Odd and Sissi, "and who is this woman to you?"

"Sir," Jeremie replied, "she is my girlfriend, Aelita Hopper. We had a fight a month ago and we've been separated since then. I guess she came here tonight looking for some entertainment, I don't know for sure. An hour and a half ago, I got a call from her saying that she needed my help. I came as quickly as I could and found her with him."

"And you two," the Inspector asked to Odd and Sissi.

"She's my roommate at college," Sissi replied, "the three of us are her friends, sir. We attend the college over by Kadic Academy."

"Hmm," Michelette replied. He went over to Aelita, who had slumped to the floor when the man let go of her, and took her purse. He rummaged inside and found her driver's license and school identification card, showing that Sissi and Jeremie were correct.

"I think I see what's going on now," he said to the man, "you drugged this woman, hoping to take her home and rape her. Either you didn't know she had called for help, or you hoped you would be gone with her before her friends arrived. Using drugs to seduce women is a serious crime, my friend."

"No no no," the man said, "I swear! I just saw her at this table over here, nearly asleep! I just wanted to take her home and give her a place to sleep it off, you see?"

"Yes, I do, clearly," said Inspector Michelette, "I'm feeling very generous tonight, so I am going to make you an offer you can't refuse. Leave this club, now, and don't ever let me see your face here again. If I do, I will haul you in, and you will not enjoy the experience."

The man turned and ran like the Hounds Of Hell were after him.

The Inspector turned to Jeremie and his friends. "Take your friend home now, and take care of her. When she wakes up in the morning, tell her how close she came to being a statistic. Assholes with date rape drugs are no joke. Good Evening."

* * *

If Jeremie thought the drive to the club was bad, the drive back was worse. Odd had helped him get Aelita into his car. Sissi said she would drive Aelita's car back to the school. When they left, Jeremie told Odd to drive to his apartment. 

The whole drive back, Aelita was unresponsive. Sometimes her eyes would open, but it was like she saw nothing, or saw something other than what was around her. Every now and then she would moan in despair.

Jeremie just held his love in his arms, crying softly and praying that he wasn't too late, that it was just a reaction to something she drank, that she would come out of it and be All Right.

They finally got to Jeremie's apartment, and Odd helped Jeremie get Aelita inside. Jeremie slipped off her shoes, laid her in his bed, then covered her up.

"Odd, thanks for helping her tonight," Jeremie told his friend, "and I'm really sorry about what happened earlier."

"It's alright about Aelita," Odd replied, "but you do owe me for the interruption." With that, Odd left.

* * *

From the trip to the club, through the confrontation with the man trying to pick up Aelita, through the drive home, and to Jeremie bringing Aelita into his apartment, Jude and Judy observed. 

"What do you think?" Judy asked her partner.

"The immanent danger has past. We shall see what happens next."


	5. Soon

Warning: Rated 'M' for adult subject matter and adult language.

The main characters of this story are based on characters from the cartoon 'Code Lyoko.' I do not own, nor do I claim, any copyright to these characters.

* * *

The next morning, Aelita woke up alone in a strange bed. On the night stand by her was a note: 

_Aelita, I'm sorry. Don't leave me. We have to talk. Jeremie._

She looked around again and realized that she was in Jeremie's apartment. Jeremie was sprawled out in his desk chair, asleep.

When she first opened her eyes, she was afraid that the dream she had last night came true, that she went to that club, got picked up by some stranger, and slept with him. She was afraid that she had truly started the chain of events that ruined her life.

But she was here, now, in the place she truly wanted to be.

She got up and found that she was still dressed. Her dress was badly wrinkled from her sleeping in it, but she didn't care. She walked over to the man asleep in the chair, and kissed him.

Jeremie startled awake when her lips touched his. His eyes snapped open and the first thing he saw was her. He wrapped his arms around her, intending never to let her go.

"Oh, God, Aelita, I thought I had lost you," he said after they parted, his voice starting to break up as his tears started.

"I thought I had lost you, too," she said, crying herself now.

They just held each other and cried.

* * *

Later, Jeremie fixed them some tea. 

"Aelita, I want to apologize," Jeremie started, "I know I've been a prick for the last month, but I realized last night that I've been stringing you along for the longest time."

Something went cold in Aelita. Was he getting ready to dump her?

Jeremie continued, "all those times when we've made love, I was telling you that I was ready for the final step, to enter you and give you the pleasure you truly deserve."

"But I'm not ready, yet, and that's why I always stopped. It's not that I don't want to, and it's not that I don't find you desirable, because I do on both counts. It's just that there's something inside of me that tells me it isn't time yet, and if I rush things, something bad will happen."

"I know that some day, the time will be right. And when that day comes, I will spend it and every day after it recompensing you for the pain I've caused."

She looked at him for a moment, then said, "I don't care."

Jeremie was shocked.

Aelita continued, "I don't care if you ever touch me again in that way, just never leave me! I was wrong, thinking I needed you inside of me to be loved. Last night, I lived an entire lifetime in that meat market, going from partner to partner, experiencing only the briefest and palest moments of pleasure, but never Joy. The only thing I ever got from it was emptiness and loneliness. I've felt more love in the few minutes we've sat here than I could ever know with the one night stands I would have found."

"I forgot a promise that was given to me a long time ago, when I first felt your body next to mine. I forgot that one day, it will be the right time. Don't ever let me forget it again."

He took her hands into his own. "I won't."

* * *

Jude/Judy, the Two That Are As One, Sunderer and Rejoiner, Husbandmen of the Branches of Life, regarded his/her/their work. 

"Adequate," said Jude.

"Adequate, but he didn't tell her the whole truth. Had he done so, she would have Healed him now, and saved themselves grief later on," said Judy.

"That wound was unintended, but it serves a purpose. While they have their bond, like the others, it is no where near as strong as, say, the Della Robbias," said Jude.

"That was a fluke. They took a bond of protection and turned it into a marriage bond," she said.

"With absolutely no prompting or assistance from anyone, Above, Below, or In Between. That was a truly powerful work," he replied.

"Agreed. What of these two?"

"They have their education to complete," he told his companion, "then they must take up their Battle again. But their Time is coming. Soon it will be Right and Time."


End file.
